Management and Control Plan for Bighead, Black, Grass, and Silver Carps in the United States
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Bighead carp Silver carp Management and Control Plan for Bighead, Black, Grass, and Silver Carps in the United States Submitted to the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force Prepared by the Asian Carp Working Group October 2007 Black carp Grass carp © Photo courtesy of Brian Johnson, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Suggested citation for this document: Conover, G., R. Simmonds, and M. Whalen, editors. 2007. Management and control plan for bighead, black, grass, and silver carps in the United States. Asian Carp Working Group, Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force, Washington, D.C. 223 pp. Cover sketches courtesy of Matthew Thomas, Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. 2 ASIAN CARP WORKING GROUP MEMBERS Name Affiliation John Andersen The Nature Conservancy Mike Armstrong Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Jimmy Avery Mississippi State University Valerie Barko Missouri Department of Conservation Kim Bogenschutz Iowa Department of Natural Resources Joel Brammeier Lake Michigan Federation Beth Brownson Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Sarah Calloway U.S. Forest Service Duane Chapman U.S. Geological Survey Matt Cochran FishPro/Cochran and Wilken, Inc. Mike Conlin Illinois Department of Natural Resources Greg Conover1 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Mark Cornish U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Becky Cudmore Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada John Dettmers Illinois Natural History Survey Carole Engle University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Thad Finley Farm Cat Livehaulers Jeff Finley U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Tom Flatt Indiana Department of Natural Resources Mike Freeze Keo Fish Farm Jim Garvey Southern Illinois University Chris Goddard Great Lakes Fishery Commission Mike Goehle U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Joanne Grady U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Bart Hawcroft Missouri Department of Agriculture Mike Hoff U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Chris Horton B.A.S.S./ESPN Gary Jensen U.S. Department of Agriculture - Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service Anita Kelly Southern Illinois University Jack Kilgore U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Ron Kinnunen Michigan State University - Sea Grant Rob Klumb U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Cindy Kolar U.S. Geological Survey 1 Chairman i Name Affiliation Bill Mattes Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission Bill Mauck University of Missouri – Columbia Paula Moore Jones and Eaker Farms Tom Mosher Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks Phil Moy University of Wisconsin - Sea Grant Elizabeth Murphy U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Marshal Myers Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council John Nickum Private Consultant, Aquatic Policy and Information Center International Leo Nico U.S. Geological Survey Mike Oetker U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Tim Patronski U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Mark Pegg University of Nebraska Jim Petty U.S. Geological Survey Bob Pitman U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Andrew Plauck U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Jerry Rasmussen Mississippi Interstate Cooperative Resource Association Bill Reeves Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency Jay Rendall Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Mike Schaeffer Schaeffer Fish Market Steven Schainost Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Lynn Schlueter North Dakota Game and Fish Commission Hal Schramm U.S. Geological Survey Steve Shults Illinois Department of Natural Resources Rob Simmonds U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Darlene Smith Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada Andy Starostka U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Nathan Stone University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Kristin TePas Illinois Natural History Survey / Illinois - Indiana Sea Grant Dan Thomas Great Lakes Sport Fishing Council Jay Troxel U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Hugh Warren Catfish Farmers of America Mike Welker U.S. Forest Service Paul Zajicek National Association of State Aquaculture Coordinators ii EDITORS Greg Conover, Asian Carp Working Group Chairman Assistant Project Leader U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Carterville Fishery Resources Office 9053 Route 148, Suite A Marion, Illinois 62959 Phone: (618) 997-6869 Fax: (618) 997-9185 [email protected] Rob Simmonds Project Leader U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Carterville Fishery Resources Office 9053 Route 148, Suite A Marion, IL 62959 Phone: (618) 997-6869 Fax: (618) 997-9185 [email protected] Michelle Whalen Technical Writer U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Migratory Birds and Habitat Programs 911 NE 11th Ave. Portland, OR 97232 Phone: (503) 231-2266 Fax: (503) 231-2019 [email protected] iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank all the members of the Asian Carp Working Group (Working Group) for their role in the collaborative development of this management and control plan. This document is the result of many dedicated individuals who invested numerous personal hours, including nights and weekends, to develop this plan. I am particularly grateful to those Working Group members who actively participated on drafting teams, developed a first draft of the plan for the remainder of the Working Group to build upon, participated in Working Group meetings, and assisted in revising and finalizing this document for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 3 Fisheries Program and the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force. Duane Chapman, Mike Goehle, Bill Mattes, Jay Rendall, and Hal Schramm provided a valuable contribution to the development of this plan in their voluntary roles as drafting team leaders. Mike Armstrong, Jimmy Avery, Duane Chapman, Carole Engle, Mike Goehle, Jo Grady, Rob Klumb, John Nickum, Steve Shults, Rob Simmonds, Jay Troxel, and Paul Zajicek were instrumental in revising the draft document based on guidance from the Working Group. Tom Mosher, John Nickum, Rob Simmonds, Michelle Whalen, and Paul Zajicek provided editorial reviews of this document. I would like to thank several colleagues that are not members of the Working Group but who contributed to the completion of this management and control plan, including Nate Caswell, Andrew Plauck, Shelley Simmonds, and Colby Wrasse. Mary Balogh, Sara Dolan, Mike Hoff, Tim Patronski, and Mike Stahl assisted in summarizing state regulations by providing data or developing GIS based maps. Andrew Mitchell, U.S. Department of Agriculture, though not an official member of the Working Group, provided valuable contributions throughout the development of this plan. Many other colleagues assisted in the development or review of specific materials or provided expertise through personal communications that are cited throughout the document. Susan Parks facilitated Working Group meetings and provided documentation for the completion of this plan. I would also like to thank Gerry Jackson and Everett Wilson for their participation in Working Group meetings and their guidance throughout this process. Kari Duncan, Mike Hoff, Mike Oetker, Rob Simmonds, and Erin Williams also provided guidance throughout this process for which I am grateful. Greg Conover Chair, Asian Carp Working Group iv EXECUTIVE SUMMARY There are many carps native to Asia, including seven that have been introduced to the United States. For the purposes of this document the term “Asian carps” refers to four species: black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus), bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis), grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella), and silver carp (H. molitrix). Feral bighead, grass, and silver carps have all established reproducing populations in several major rivers of the United States. To date, there have been at least 14 confirmed collections of adult black carp by commercial fishers in the United States and unconfirmed reports of adult black carp captured annually in the Mississippi River and its tributaries over the past 13 years (Nico 2007; Nico et al. 2005). There have been no collections of black carp eggs and larvae or observations of spawning (Nico et al. 2005). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) requested and co-funded the completion of risk assessments by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) that analyzed the probability and consequences of a species becoming established in the United States. Using risk assessment methods described by the Risk Assessment and Management Committee (1996), the USGS concluded that the organism risk potentials for bighead, black, and silver carps are all high (i.e., an unacceptable risk; Kolar et al. 2007; Nico et al. 2005). A national risk assessment for grass carp has not been completed and state-level risk assessments may still be needed where grass carp have not been reported or where the species has not become established. The life history traits of Asian carps (e.g., reproductive capability, population densities, feeding habits, broad climate tolerance, mobility, and longevity) indicate that these four species have a high probability of causing ecological and economic effects where populations become established (Mandrak and Cudmore 2004; Kolar et al. 2007; Nico et al. 2005). In some locations of the Mississippi River Basin, such effects have occurred. Natural resources managers are concerned that Asian carps have the potential to cause extensive and irreversible changes to the aquatic environment, particularly those that have been extensively altered and are severely impacted by on-going physical and chemical stressors, thereby jeopardizing the long-term sustainability of native aquatic species, particularly to imperiled, threatened, and endangered species. The USFWS added all forms of live silver carp to the list of injurious wildlife under the Lacey Act, prohibiting their importation and interstate transport (except